


Other Side of Impossibility

by natanije



Series: Possibilities [2]
Category: Naruto
Genre: AU, Angst, Deleted Scenes, F/M, Fluff, Friendship, M/M, Romance, basically every self indulgent scenarios imaginable, extra scenes
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-11-05
Updated: 2017-04-01
Packaged: 2018-08-29 04:15:53
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 10
Words: 17,642
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8474959
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/natanije/pseuds/natanije
Summary: While Nohara Rin is passive aggresively trying to shove a middle finger to impossibility, other people are in fact also parts of many possibilities. This is their story. (Collection of sidestories including but not limited to POV, discarded ideas, AUs and self indulgent scenarios from EI)





	1. That Smile, He Thinks of It

He has a friend.

It's…. somehow a nice feeling. A friend, that is.

He doesn't really go out that much, he spends a lot of time in his house or his backyard. Training, playing with his dogs, reading, the usual things. He doesn't need to go out often, really. Being in the compound is fine, it's nice, it's safe, it's familiar.

He used to hate going out to parks. Since what is he supposed to do at parks? The children there plays sand and he's not exactly that interested to be shoved into the sand. Still, his dad made him go there.

He guesses he doesn't really hate parks now, since he meets his friend there.

Rin is…. Annoying. She's a loudmouth, and Kakashi wonders if she even has a filter for that mouth of hers, not that he has any, he's a very blunt person when he wants to talk. She talks whatever is in her mind, and while she can keep her silence when it matters, there are times when she speaks simply just to fill the stretching silence between them.

They often times shoot words at each other and… it's kind of fun. He is smart, he knows that. Rin is smart, as well, since she follows what he says and nods along with whatever information he may tells. She even knows some stuffs that he doesn't, she uses big words to explain things and at the rare _rare_ times when Kakashi can't comprehend, she explains everything clearly.

In the Academy, people don't seem to like him simply because he scores higher than them and isn't that just idiotic? They're simply not trying as hard as he is, clearly, or they're just plain stupid and untalented, that's all. He doesn't see Rin complaining whenever she loses against Kakashi. She just… laughs it off. And she tries again, fixing her mistakes. It's kind of admirable.

Then again, Rin is hated, too. Not as much, but the girls don't seem to like that she is in the highest rank between the girls. But she never reacts to their apparent hatred and treats them fairly, not bothering them unless she needs to, shrugging off their mean comments or ignoring them altogether…

… _Actually…_

He thinks she's actually too lazy to handle them, so she ignores them instead. That is _so_ very likely.

What? So he doesn't always have the best opinion about his friend, so what. She thinks he's a brat, it's fair for him to think of her as slightly lazy and idiotic. She does tend to have stupid hopes and high opinions for other people. Like that dead last for example.

They spar a lot, too, and while she starts out messy and weak, she's climbing up the ladder every single time they spar and he knows she learns much from their spars. She's a quick learner.

Somehow, he thinks he's trying to catch up to her while _she_ is trying to catch up to _him_ and isn't that just confusing? But everything is kind of confusing when it concerns her. She's _strange_.

She has strange stories, literally a whole new world created in her notebook with so many histories and cultures, she makes strange foods, she makes a whole new language altogether, and she's the very epitome of a ninja who will probably die smiling.

Come on, she smiles a lot. At everything. Everytime. It's strange. It's creepy. Probably a close one to Gai's strangeness. She even understands and encourages his "youthfulness" or whatever that is.

He tells his dad that, actually.

"Rin is strange. She smiles too much."

His dad blinks, "What kind of smile?"

It's his turn to blink. "What do you mean?"

"There are lots of kinds of smiles, Kakashi. Sometimes it's true, sometimes it's not," His dad ruffles his hair and leaves it at that.

… _What?_

He doesn't understand.

…Now that he thinks about it, his dad smiles too much either.

They're both strange people, Kakashi concludes.

Though that doesn't make his dad less cooler. _No way._ Nuh-uh.

* * *

He thinks he gets it.

Rin smiles a lot, and there _are_ different kinds of smiles. _Dad really knows everything,_ he thinks, brimming with pride. Of course his dad knows what is going on. They both smile a lot, and he wonders if dad's smiles are different each time, as well.

Rin's smile is carefree and honest, when she smiles at him, at Gai, at Obito. Her eyes are like the window to her heart and it's always so easy to read whatever she's feeling when she smiles at him: she's happy, she's content, she's amused, she's feeling playful. Kakashi thinks it's kind of stupid that she lets her feelings show that easily.

Her smile thins sometimes and it simply screams the word "polite" when she speaks with her elders, with her sensei, with strangers. It gets even duller when she smiles at the classmates who insults her. And it gets cold when she smiles at those who insults _her friends._

She doesn't get angry when people insult her—but that doesn't mean that she doesn't feel hurt by it, is it? Kakashi doesn't know—and yet when people insult her _friends,_ she becomes this cold, protective mama bear.

He remembers when she used some kind of powder to burn some kid's bag, who had ripped Obito's notebook while laughing that day, and because it started to burn while she wasn't nearby ( _"it will lit on fire with enough friction," she explained to him, when he asked about it after school_ ), nobody can pin the blame on her or Obito. He doesn't think Obito even knows that it was her who burned that kid's bag. He knows Yukimura-sensei knows, though. And she does, as well.

"I think sensei knows," she said, back then, a thin, amused smile on her lips. It was a different one again, Kakashi doesn't know what this smile entails. She smiles a lot and it seems different each and every single time when it's not directed at him or her friends.

It doesn't even change when he insults her and he insults her _a lot._ They're mostly automatic by now, and he doesn't really have any reason to stop. She doesn't complain about it, anyway.

In fact, she laughs at him and says that his words hurt her. And yet she laughs and Kakashi just stares at her. If she's hurt then why is she laughing? That is so creepy.

She's really, _really_ strange.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

Kakashi used to think that Rin will be the kind of person that dies smiling, thanks to how much she smiles a year.

Then Obito died _smiling_ and it suddenly hurts him to even _think_ about Rin dying while smiling, because that way he won't be able to ever forget that smile and in fact, how about no? How about not dying at all? That's totally fine by him. Rin is not allowed to die until he's, like, fifty or something, or maybe when he's dead, only then she's allowed to follow.

He won't allow her to die, not anytime soon, he says at much.

She smiles at him, then. A sad, broken smile as if she knows something he doesn't, as if she's pitying him for thinking about that. But it's going to come true, he reasons, he's going to _protect_ her, and so she won't have to die before him.

That train of thought remains in his mind until his hand finds itself embedded deep in her flesh.

_Her flesh._

Kakashi's mind goes numb.

All he can think is on how she's not smiling, this time around.


	2. That Crush, He Panics Over It

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warnings: crack ahoy, some fluffiness, #awkwardmoments, White Fang is a dork, The Problem that Arises Thanks to Rin's Shameless Ogling Over Sakumo's Ass(tm)

Sakumo remembers the day when he first met Nohara Rin.

The girl had been sticking her hands to the tree with chakra, a basic move to start the Tree Climbing Technique. While it was odd for someone to start so young, especially for someone who was definitely not from any particular Shinobi Clan, Sakumo had quickly guessed it was either her parents were shinobi who were too excited at the prospect of having a daughter who will follow their steps—or they were giving her early medic training.

Medic is all about control and knowledge, after all.

And then Kakashi, being Kakashi, started an argument between them. Sakumo half feared she'd cry or scream, or even worse, try to hit his son—that happened, before, some kids just couldn't handle his son's sass—but she'd thrown sass right back at his face and actually teased the boy. Good naturedly, if the positive amusement in her eyes was any indication.

And it kind of escalated from there.

From throwing barbs and insults at each other, it went to kunai throwing competitions, Tree Walking competitions, taijutsu spars and discussions regarding any knowledge they may have at this age while they still threw insults at each other but Sakumo couldn't really see any real worrying hostility between each other (despite Kakashi's grumbles and glares and petulant frown—that's just how his son is after all, he'll grow out of it soon, Sakumo believes so) and wasn't that just great? A good shinobi he might be, he was one who worried over his ability as a good father, and he was one who was well aware on how it was hard for his little genius to have a friend.

If Nohara Rin—her teases and insults thrown toward his son aside—could be a good friend for Hatake Kakashi, who was he to complain?

So he simply approved of her as Kakashi's friend inwardly, then he sat back, and watched the show.

.

Kakashi asks a lot of questions about things he may or may not learn from Rin. Like some stuffs about anatomy and do genetics really affect our personality? Can head damage alter our behavior? And many others.

Though sometimes it's mostly his questions and complaints regarding how Rin is so strange and creepy and unbelievable and he just snickers inwardly because his son is so cute, seeing him gets frustrated over the girl he believes to be an enigma.

He can see the begrudging and slightly exasperated fondness in his boy's eyes for the girl, and he knows he's done a great choice in allowing their friendship (because no lies, he could have threatened the girl to leave Kakashi alone if she proved to be someone worth to be in his shit-list, a little girl or not; or he could simply tell Kakashi to stay away from her and Kakashi would, he definitely would).

Though he still sputters in surprise whenever Rin ever looks at him in a way that a little girl should not. (He's the White Fang, and being a single father or not, women and men alike still ogle him and flirt, trying to get inside his pants. He knows the look when he sees one. And why, why must it be Rin-chan who looks at him like that? She's so young, if it's his son he can understand! They're near the same age after all! But him? And she stares at his ass, as Pakkun informed him after that first time she visited the Compound. He had never been so horrified at the prospect of someone appreciating his definitely fine ass). He simply settles with feigning ignorance and treats her like he treats intelligent little kids and little girls in general.

He knows her, er, crush on him will get away soon.

(God, he sure hopes so.)

.

When Kakashi starts muttering in strange words, sometimes even seemingly making sentences with those strange words, Sakumo passes it off as incoherent mumbling.

But then he hears patterns of speech and he immediately thinks, it's a code. But it's an unknown code, he never learns that code before, where did Kakashi learn it?

He should've known it's Rin.

Still, who would've thought she'd make a whole new code on her own? Such a complex one, too. (And Kakashi refuses to teach him the code, seemingly proud he manages to know something his dad doesn't, much to Sakumo's amusement).

She's really smart, isn't she? Sakumo can't help but be proud.

He really does like smart girls, after all.

(And then he remembers her crush on him and thinks back on his previous thought and on how much it sounds so wrong now that he associates it with her crush.

He proceeds to cover his face with his hands and muffles his agonized groan as he repeatedly slams his forehead to the dining table.

Thunk, thunk, thunk.

All the while, Kakashi stares at him as if he's insane.)

.

At some point in between Rin's yet again adoring stares and Sakumo's attempt to keep himself looking oblivious to it all—he wonders if he will get thrown into jail by the Uchiha if they see this.

She follows him like a puppy, sometimes. When she's visiting the compound and Kakashi escapes to his room to either get a book he wants to show to Rin or simply to escape her sparkling smiles that seems to always appear when Pakkun (and his really, really soft paws) is nearby.

It's… cute.

No, wait, shit—

.

It takes Namikaze Minato one glance at Rin and him to figure it out and after the girl goes home, the blond looks at him inquiringly, and The White Fang can only grumble.

"I'm a potential jailbait, I know, be quiet, Namikaze."

Minato lets out a startled laugh at that.

.

"Kakashi has a best friend now," he says to Jiraiya, who always make a point to visit him whenever the Toad Sage comes home from missions, though sometimes rare it may be. The Hatake takes another swig of sake and exhales, lips twitching up in a smile. "And he's attached."

Jiraiya, to his credit, simply blinks once, twice before breaking into a smile. He knows of Sakumo's worry over Kakashi's sheer independence over everything, how hard it is for him to have friends, how hard it is for him to properly hang out with those around his age—and thus, with this news, he's appropriately happy for the White Fang of Konoha.

"Well, isn't that great! A she, huh? Your son is growing up too quickly, Sakumo!" Jiraiya laughs, the sound a comforting thing for Sakumo even as he inwardly thinks 'don't I know it' in response to Jiraiya's words. Jiraiya takes a sip of his own sake and continues. "Before you know it, they'll probably start popping out kids soon!"

Sakumo chokes, mainly because his son is five and the fact that Rin is only eight. The thought of them having children when they're still children themselves is simply way too much. Of course, of course Jiraiya will be the one to say an uncomfortable, with slight—dare he say it—innuendo to make him falter from his usual rather cool demeanor.

Settling a glare at the Toad Sage even as he wheezes, feeling some sake making its way up to his nose and burning the inside of his nose. He snorts the liquid out, while Jiraiya laughs some more.

Sakumo retaliates by stomping hard on the Sage's foot.

Jiraiya's howl of pain is so worth it.

.

When the girl graduates a week after Kakashi—and it was a funny thing when he remembers that she's supposed to graduate early, the same time as Kakashi and she refused the offer. He heard the Sandaime was, rightfully so, very floored and flabbergasted over her choice—Sakumo takes her for a celebration and when it is all over, he asks for a picture.

"Don't you want to just take a picture with Kakashi?" Rin furrows her eyebrows, looking a bit hesitant, though there is some underlying hope—perhaps to really take a picture with him and Kakashi—in her eyes. "I mean, he's your son."

"Well. You're like the daughter I never had," he says with a smile, and sees how Rin freeze and shit, is it because of the infatuation she has on him—until Rin looks up at him with such a brilliant, brilliant smile on her face and—

Well, then.

He thinks he's been thinking it wrong all along.

She only sees him as a father figure. An idol. Much like how Kakashi sees him.

And he's been scared and worried for nothing.

He sighs.

Imagination can really run wild, huh?

(Little does he know, she does ogle him and appreciates his obviously perfectly fine and pert ass).

.

The picture is framed and placed at a table near the dining table, and Kakashi frequently stares at it whenever he passes by, an unreadable look on his masked face.

One time, the boy stands in front of it and just…. Stares.

When his son's eyes soften as he still gazes at the photo, Sakumo simply smiles.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Lmao, that's it for Sakumo's POV. No, Sakumo doesn't like Rin that way, but he's a dork and when he notices Rin's… er, appreciation toward his beauty, he thinks of the worst and feels like a jailbait. Poor Sakumo, really.
> 
> And Jiraiya is a pervert, nothing new there. Though he's like KakaRin's first fan. Sort of.
> 
> Anyway, I hope you enjoyed this chapter as much as I do (and laughed at Sakumo's wild imagination as much as I do). Another chapter of EI will come soon, I promise! For now, please review, tell me what you think and give me new ideas for the upcoming OSOI!
> 
> Remember, OSOI is a compilation of EI character's POVs, but it's also a place for discarded ideas, AU, self indulgent scenarios, and many others. So just be wild and throw your ideas in for OSOI!


	3. Kakashi vs Obito

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Bunch ass of headcanons
> 
> Basically just happy stuffs for you to eat

**UCHIHA OBITO**

**.**

As shown in the latest chapter, he _does_ get bullied. Quite a lot actually. He's just decides to hide that fact and he's pretty smart at doing it. This time though, considering he's beaten black and blue and Rin is there to watch it, well, he can't really hide it now.

He will forever be embarrassed that his grandmother thought of Rin as his girlfriend. At dinner his grandmother literally had this Uchiha Approving Glint in her eyes after she ate the food Rin made, as well as some mischief when she stared at the old photo albums. He really, really hopes that his grandmother won't tell Rin embarrassing stories about him when she visits next.

Uchiha Obito is an emotional eater. The first few days after Rin graduates early, he stuffs his face with four full plates of dango. He feels sick afterwards and his grandma scolds him for, like, an hour, but well, at least he has something else to focus on other than Rin-chan leaving him behind.

He still remembers the pain when Rin punched his face on the first day and that is one of the unsaid reasons as to why he hesitates in fighting Rin. All of her sweet smiles and kind behavior aside, her punches are _mean_.

He's actually pretty chill with Gai. He just can't stand those compliments when he's feeling shitty about his taijutsu. He very much prefers rundown criticism and _maybe_ compliments after the spar, not when he's feeling frustrated.

Contrary to popular belief, his annoyance toward Kakashi doesn't start on first day of Academy, but rather after a swek in the Academy when he noticed that the silver haired boy treated Rin quite harshly. Hence as to why he thinks that Kakashi is a jerk. Plus, the silver haired boy thinks so highly of himself, so Obito is pretty much peeved over Kakashi's attitude.

He's pretty stumped that Rin doesn't seem to mind Kakashi's harsh demeanor. Okay… He can see that they're particularly close and, yeah, Rin smacks Kakashi's forehead quite a lot apparently, and it's a bit amusing. But _still_!

He notices that Kakashi doesn't really intend to hurt her though, but still frown at him because he's a firm believer of you should never hurt your friend no matter what.

At first, Obito is uneasy toward Inomaru because _what sort of guy likes princesses stories and wants more? He's so lame!_ Before he decides that eh, Inomaru is just a pleasant person in general, so there's that.

Obito likes Rin, but he thinks it's not quite like _like_ just yet. She's kind and funny, and she tells the greatest kinds of stories. Plus, she's smart and strong. No reason for Obito to dislike her. He doesn't have a crush on her yet, but he thinks perhaps liking Rin _that_ way won't be too bad of a choice.

That choice cements itself, ironically, after Rin found him being beaten in Chapter 9. He realizes the extent Rin will willingly go through for his sake, how she firmly believes in him _when his own Clan doesn't_. He thinks he doesn't deserve Rin's kindness, but can't help but crave for it.

Meanwhile he totally notices that Kakashi is quite attached to Rin. Smacks and insults aside, that boy is pretty damn possessive about the brunette. Dead last Obito may be, he can't possibly miss those piercing stares of doom Kakashi sends his way whenever Rin does so much as laugh at his joke or offer to study with him.

He thinks the KakaRin duo is just… _strange._ What kind of friendship start over insults anyway?! KakaRin, apparently. God, it's so _strange_ ….

.

**HATAKE KAKASHI**

**.**

It was morbid curiosity that made him talk to Rin that fateful day at the park. He still doesn't know if it's a blessing or not. On one hand, Rin is a good friend, good sparring partner and can discuss heavy things with him. On the other hand? Annoying as hell.

He doesn't think his smacks will become a habit that he can't seem to get rid of… But alas, he sometimes finds himself automatically moving his hand to hit Rin over the head. He kind of feels bad, but then hears Rin's cheeky words and teasing insults and he decides that she totally deserves those hits on her head.

He doesn't like that Rin keeps on smacking his forehead whenever she thinks he's too "bratty", whatever that means (because he's _not_ a brat, thank you very much!) but it has became something familiar that only Rin does. And only Rin is allowed to, to be honest. Kakashi won't admit it, but whoever dares to smack his forehead other than Rin will get bitten by his dogs. Twice. On the ass.

He doesn't hate Obito, not really. He's just… stupid. And he keeps on glaring at Kakashi, so _of course_ he's going to glare back. And he drags Rin everywhere, it's messing with his sparring schedules with Rin. Frankly, Kakashi is annoyed. (What do you mean he's jealous. He's not jealous. Not at all. Rin is his friend first and foremost and he knows the girl has some sort of bleeding heart so he doesn't put much fuss when she starts adding Obito then Inomaru then Chouzou then Shikako then _Gai_ to her schedules. ….though if people catch him glaring at the back of Obito's head, well… he'll make sure they'll never tell)

When his father invited Rin for the first time to the Compound, he noticed the changes in her demeanor. Hence his strange looks at Rin. He first shook it off as her being disoriented because she met her idol, whish is his father, so. But then there are times far in between when he'll see her act strangely sweet and kind of hesitant toward him or someone else, the usual shit eating grin or neutral contentment expression of her changing into something more…. Soft. Kakashi doesn't know what to think of it. It's… a good look. But even Rin's usual earnest soft smile doesn't look like _that_. It's like she's a wholly different person and if he doesn't know any better he'll think she's a sleeping agent or something. But it can't be, right? So Kakashi shoves that suspicion deep, deep within his mind until further notice.

Also, he's 1000% maji aware of Rin's crush on his father. And he doesn't know whether he should feel disgusted because _wow there must be something wrong with this. His father… with Rin? Ew._ Or amused because his silently panicking father is, well, amusing to watch.

Kakashi doesn't know what is so interesting with his father's ass. Why does she keep on glancing at it? There's nothing on it….

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> NEXT CHAPTER: Orochimaru


	4. That Smile, He Ignores

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Because we all need a tiny little bit of Oro-chan-san in our lives.
> 
> Timeline: Five days after Kakashi's "I Hate Rin" episode.

It's a good, good day. Orochimaru lets out a breath, stirring his coffee idly while he reads over the results for his most recent autopsy. A Konoha-nin, died of poisoning. He's able to find the offending poison in their brain, including his stomach, and Orochimaru has to wonder if it's because of a puncture wound leading to poisoning... or this ninja was simply foolish and ate some poisoned thing. Or maybe someone poisoned whatever he consumed. Whichever. The Snake Sannin doesn't really care; death because of poison is common in the shinobi world, and while Orochimaru may be immune to some of them—courtesy of Tsunade who chucked basic poisons at her teammates to make sure they don't die from such simple poisons, because it will be _insulting_ , especially to Tsunade's ability as a medic, and courtesy of Orochimaru himself, who learned from Tsunade's methods and tried out exactly how much poisons he can handle. The trials have not been pleasant, but it certainly gives him a satisfying reward—he's learned to be cautious over anything and everything, and he doubts anyone can poison him easily.

He's more interested in the corpse he got yesterday, a young lad whose skin melted off, and the organs are kind of boiled in some ways, plus no one is able to identify who that is. He has to work on that soon. Perhaps finding out exactly why this shinobi's skin even _melted_. Is it because of a focused concentration of Katon jutsu? Or Suiton, simply made out of hot water? Or a _kekkei genkai_? He certainly hears of a bloodlimit which allows you to shoot lava out of your mouth... It certainly is interesting. Oh, and find out who that lad is. ...Not that he actually cares, but Hiruzen will be breathing down his neck for identity. And he guesses it's best if the corpse is delivered to the family... if that lad has a family, anyway. Unidentifiable corpses are really a pain in the neck. It's good enough that with his and Tsunade's researches, they're able to find out the identities now, including many other things.

But before that, it was simply unidentifiable corpses piling over another and another, being burned together at once because the village couldn't afford to bother and try to guess _who the fuck is this shinobi, is it a-ya or b-ko or c-ta or d-ko?_

Orochimaru is fairly certain his parents were within those piles, once upon a time.

The Sannin frowns. Whatever. It is long over by now, there is no need for him to dwell in that anymore— _his parents graves are empty, he knows that, but even still he visits them regularly until somehow, when he sees Tsunade's haunted eyes, when he sees how she breaks, when he sees Tsunade's pain and suffering from_ _ **holding on too much, too much on her beloveds.**_ _Orochimaru just stops—_ he must focus on his researches and autopsies. And perhaps take new poison from Kishimoto to test. It has been a good da—

"Oro-chan-san!

And that damned nickname is back.

Dammit, it's been a good day, too.

Letting out a long suffering sigh, Orochimaru looks toward the source of the voice and that damn nickname. Nohara Rin, Kishimoto Masashi's apprentice who takes after his _horrible_ nicknaming ability. A prodigy of her own right, considering how fast she learns compared to other people. Though perhaps, it is because of how she pours her all into learning and training, something Orochimaru thinks as highly commendable, really. Not that he will ever tell her that. The world shall burn before Orochimaru openly tells her that she's way more tolerable than most kids. She'll get even more insufferable if he ever slips that one traitorous thought out loud.

"Nohara," he says, as dry as he can. He hopes his tone and expression can give her hints on how he wishes for her to scatter to her sensei. Why is it that she runs toward him when she has her own sensei? She has _two teachers_ by now. This girl is as persistent as much as she is ambitious. "What is it that you want?"

The girl pouts half heartedly and Orochimaru knows from her slight pause that she certainly notices and simply chooses to pretend she doesn't notice. Dammit.

"Do I have to want anything to come toward you, Oro-chan-san?" She says.

"People always want something when they come near me, so yes."

"Oh," she mutters out, "that's... sad."

Orochimaru raises an eyebrow, not registering as to why she'd say that nor why she looks genuinely bothered by it. It isn't like he particularly likes other people's visits either, true. They're always so scared when they approach him, but they do because they want his knowledge, his _power_. Even his sensei these days only come to him to give him new orders. So far, the only ones who approach him without wanting anything specific are Jiraiya and Kishimoto. Kishimoto has his own work to focus in, though. And Jiraiya is galloping somewhere around the Elemental Countries, too busy spying and drooling over breasts in one swoop to bother him with small chats.

"I just saw you and decided to say hello, is all! And I don't know, maybe we can talk? About... er, whatever? Or have coffee? Oh wait, you already do... I can get my own coffee, then?"

...And perhaps her.

He can tell she's genuine, at the very least. From the way her eyebrows furrow as she thinks on what exactly she can do with Orochimaru, whom she approached out of a whim—and isn't that just _surprising—_ and how she mutters ideas after ideas before dismissing them for how they're in fact a little bit silly.

Trust Kishimoto to pick an honest and endearing kid as his apprentice, really.

Rolling his eyes at that thought, because endearing or not, in which they're **not,** not that much, both Kishimoto and Nohara are annoying. Somewhat. Whatever. He simply focuses back on his papers. "Go pick your coffee and bother me after," he simply tells her that. He has mentioned it before that eight year olds aren't supposed to drink coffee even if Kishimoto is a bad role model and drinks coffee all the time, of course, but does she listen? Not at all. Next time, if she wants to swallow something crazy like a firework or a kunai or maybe an Explosion Tag for the thrills (because kids these days are somehow a little bit crazy. Look at that green clad student, for example, running around on his hands and yelling at the top of his lungs with sunset genjutsu behind him. Even Orochimaru's generation wasn't that bad, and it had _Jiraiya_ in it), he won't even twitch. No need to waste his energy by telling off a little girl who won't even listen.

The girl chirps an okay, and all is silent for awhile.

Orochimaru goes back to nurse his coffee. Better enjoy it before it cools down.

.

.

"Oro-chan-san... you drink _black coffee_?"

"...What about it?"

"I can't handle black coffee. It's too bitter."

"You shouldn't even drink coffee in the first place, _child_. I may not care about whatever it is kids do these days, but surely a _medic nin_ like you knows that anyone your age should be drinking anything but coffee. Do you even properly _learn_?"

"...So I can drink sake?"

"..." A twitch of his eyebrow. Manda-sama on a banana tree, this girl is _insufferable_. Is this how his sensei felt when he had to teach Jiraiya? Orochimaru felt a mutual understanding with Hiruzen now. He now truly understands that silent suffering and the sheer _'someone help me'_ his sensei always seem to have on his face during Team Sarutobi's genin days. Being with a smart ass kid is _tiring_. Being with a smart ass, genuinely kind kid is even more tiring.

"...if I say it's coffee with milk, will you forgive me?"

"..."

"...Coffee and milk and _chocolate_ , then?"

"...I give up. Do whatever it is you want, Nohara."

"...So I can drink sake?" She says with a smile, _clearly_ teasing him.

Orochimaru hisses at her.

She doesn't laugh—he can see the bags under her eyes and how they're puffy, clearly she was crying. But who is he to even care? And thus he ignores it—but still, she smiles at him, genuine and _true,_ like many others before it, with a show of maturity, kindness and understanding a mere eight year old little girl shouldn't have.

Orochimaru ignores that smile like a professional.

He's done that for quite awhile now.

He can do it forever, if he must.

.

.

"So you do care, Oro-chan-san."

"I will force poison down your throat if you do not cease your playing right now, Nohara."

"Sir, yes, sir."

Orochimaru sighs.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Does Orochimaru care? Who knows, lol. What is in his mind will always be in his mind. It's rare he lets out his mushy mushy thoughts, most that he lets out are hissy fits or venom laced sarcasm. I love him. I hope you do, too.
> 
> Also, yeah, I might be taking quite awhile in updating Erasing Impossibility. Because FINALS are coming soon and I have so much group projects and individual projects to work on;;; sobs. I hope you can be patient with me.
> 
> Thank you for reading! Sushi and cupcakes for your thoughts?


	5. That Shame, He Dwells on It

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> FRIENDLY REMINDER THAT SAKUMO IS NOT DEAD (yet) IN THE LATEST EI CHAPTER.
> 
> HE'S ALIIIIIIIIVE (although barely).
> 
> No, seriously, he just stabbed himself, but as I've written in EI, he's still breathing (and choking on his own blood but eh, details). It's currently 50:50 whether I have him survive or not. So, don't grieve just yet, lmao.
> 
> Warnings: self hatred, self deprecating thoughts

For all that his abilities as a ninja have been insulted and thought of as trash, he _is_ still a ninja. Although somewhat an unstable one.

And... And he thinks he's been getting better. Rin always gives him the same honest smile and it _helps_ more than any other words she can possibly say. She talked to Kakashi and Kakashi _forgave_ him, and even though he knows that his son acknowledges that the war is his fault, it's okay, because his son forgave him, and is willing to give him another chance.

Even still it's hard to look at his son.

It's hard to look at his one and only son, his brilliant son, who gets into trouble because of this war.

He thinks he'll be able to handle it if it's just him they hate, if it's just him they insult and spit on.

But his son is suffering because of him. Because of his mistake.

 _His son_ is the one who has to face the scrutiny of the villagers, civilians and shinobi alike.

 _His son_ is the one who they badmouth on daily basis.

His son who has done nothing wrong but love and be entirely loyal to this village. Who grows stronger with leap and bounds, faster than anybody, better than anybody. Who will be a great asset to Konoha one day.

And it scares him as much as it angers him.

They should've just hated the White Fang and the White Fang alone. Not drag his son into this.

What if his son ends up hating Konoha?

What if his son ends up hating the village and everything inside it merely because of their misplaced hatred?

What if Konoha, in its hatred, uses Kakashi's loyalty against him? It's not entirely farfetched for them to do so, he's seen what other Hidden Villages can do and who is to say that Konoha won't fall to that sort of thing?

As much as he loves Konoha, Sakumo can't help but resent it for hating on his son.

 _Hate me_ , he wants to say. _Don't hate him. Just hate me_.

But who will even listen to the pleas of a scum?

* * *

He hears it when Kakashi gets angry, when he kicks Rin out of the room _because he thinks she's stealing Sakumo away from him_ and Sakumo is struck with realization on how in the midst of his attempt to prevent any more people associating him with his son, his son is _hurt_.

Because of him.

Him and his fucking stupid attempt to stay away from his son as much as possible, to have him grow as himself and not as the White Fang's, the failure's shadow.

And when he smells tears, he thinks he's failed both his son and his bestfriend, as well.

* * *

"I'm sorry," he says, when Rin comes after his wolf summon drags her into the compound.

The girl, who is so brilliant, so understanding, so honest and so _kind_ he thinks he doesn't deserve all of her support, looks at him and patiently waits.

"About Kakashi," he whispers, watching the miniscule tightening of her shoulders. "It's my fault. I shouldn't have relied on you too much." That sentence almost make him laugh to himself. Look at him, he thinks bitterly, the White Fang relying his mental health on an eight year old _genin_.

"He'll come around," he finds himself babbling a little bit. "Kakashi likes you, and you're his first friend, and Kakashi isn't always like this, I'm sorry, he's a really great kid. He's just, he's just stressed. Give him- give him some time, please," because Kakashi can't lose his friend in this hell, _not now_. "I'm sure he still thinks of you as his friend. He's just... He's just... Please."

Sakumo takes one look at the girl, and he feels himself crack even more.

"I'm very sorry," he whispers hoarsely. He is, he's truly sorry. This is all because of him. He should be damn sorry.

Rin looks at him with so much understanding it hurts.

"It's okay, Sakumo-san." _No, no, it's not okay. I destroyed your friendship, which part of it is okay?_

"I know Kakashi is just upset," she shrugs, "I'll give him space, but I won't leave him behind."

She smiles at him, soft and easy, and he remembers on how his own wife used to smile at him just like that. "I've forgiven him, alright? Don't worry."

Sakumo thinks Kakashi is fairly lucky he has her as a friend, whereas his own teammates-his _comrades, friends, the people he will trust his life on_ -has abandoned him so easily ( _the scar of betrayal from those he considers as pack will never ever ever fade_ , _and that fact is the main source of his pain. For all of these hatred, he could've handled them if his teammates didn't betray him_ ).

"You should talk to him more, Sakumo-san," Rin says, her hands stroking his wolf's fur. "You're his father, and as much as you need Kakashi, Kakashi needs you."

"I know," he says. Truly, he knows, but the shame that he's the one at fault for Kakashi's pain is too much that he can't bear looking at his face. For when he sees Kakashi, he's reminded on how his son is hurting because of _him_. "I know."

She stares at him as if she knows exactly what he thinks of, and gives him a tight lipped smile.

"You have to try. For his sake, ne?"

"I know," he breathes out. "I will try."

* * *

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> NEXT CHAPTER: Uchiha Mikoto


	6. Bad End I

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Mr. Carrot makes Kakashi happy

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Did I say I wanna do Uchiha Mikoto next? Too bad, this attacked my brain soooo, here it is! A Bad End that can possibly happen in the future chapters. POSSIBLY. MAYBE. PERHAPS. Heh.
> 
> There may be more Bad Endings that I whip out sometime in the future, so make sure you don't get confused over different Bad Endings in EI
> 
> Warnings: major character death, angst, feels, Kakashi Needs Happiness

The first time around, his father almost left him.

Kakashi was so scared, terrified and downright brimming with anxiety by the time he went over to Rin's house for a sleep over, in an attempt to avoid his very own home, which was tainted with his own father's blood.

It wasn't a bad sleep over, per se, but it'd be better if he wasn't so stressed out, maybe that way he'd be able to enjoy his first visit to Rin's house.

During that sleep over, she gave him a carrot plush toy. Around that time, the carrot was as big as his torso, and it was actually a perfect fit for him to hug in earnest. At that time, Kakashi could only stare in disdain at the smiling face of the carrot, because who even thought of making a carrot as a friggin' plush toy in the first place. If it was, like, a puppy, or maybe a tiger like the one Rin declared as her favorite, he wouldn't judge it so much, but carrot?

Come on, man. It's not like people make tomatoes into plush toys, right?

( _When Kakashi is fifteen, he sees a tomato plush toy on sale, and his first train of thought is of how Rin is possibly going to love this tomato to death. His second train of thought is not nearly as pleasant, and he walks away from the store as if his ass is on fire._

_When Kakashi is seventeen, he buys the tomato plush toy, reasoning that he'll give the toy to little Naruto, along with the toad plush that he buys at the same time. He doesn't give the tomato away._

_When Kakashi is twenty, everyone learns not to question his choices in plush toys._

_When Kakashi is twenty four, he gives the tomato away to a child who has lost his entire clan._

_When Kakashi is twenty six, the tomato is back within his apartment, left behind by the boy who betrayed his entire village._

_When Kakashi is thirty, the tomato is destroyed along with the village when the Akatsuki attacks._ )

Rin told him to keep Mr. Carrot (and what an unoriginal, lame name. Kakashi could only sigh at that naming sense of hers), and albeit reluctantly at first, he did.

"Hug it whenever you're sad during the night," she told him with a smile, and Kakashi only scoffed. He had his pups for him to seek comfort from (and a rather snuggle happy girl, really), there wasn't any need for a smiling carrot.

But he kept it anyway.

( _And he will always, always keep it, even to his death bed)._

* * *

The first person to truly leave him is Obito.

Obito died smiling and gave him his Sharingan, so that they could see the future together. So they _can_ see the future together.

When they returned back to Konoha, Rin hadn't been her usual self, and Kakashi realized that both of them needed some time alone and away from each other to properly grieve. Rin for the best friend she lost, and him for the friend, the _comrade_ he lost.

When he saw the orange carrot, all he could remember were Obito's shitty fashion sense and goggles.

He threw the carrot away from his bed.

He didn't want any more reminders of his failure; his newly obtained Sharingan was more than enough.

He wanted to return the smiling carrot to Rin. He never hugged it anymore anyway.

But then-

But then Rin left him too.

And it was still his fault. ( _And isn't everything his fault?_ )

When he woke up, he was screaming.

Her death kept on replaying inside of his mind and his dreams, day and night and it wasn't getting any _better- It's never going to get any better-_ He remembered the feel of her heart against his palm, the feel of her blood slipping from his fingers and dripping down his hand, the way some of her blood splattered on his face, the way that bloodied mouth croaked out his name in silent horror, the way she fell and didn't move, not again, not anymore, _never going to get back up and smile and tell him that everything's okay and make his day better never going to be there for him anymore no no nO NO NO please please I'm sorry please don't die please I'm sorry_

He held the carrot and cried himself to sleep.

* * *

And it kept on happening.

Again,

and again,

and again.

When he lost someone ( _Sensei and Kushina-san, dying to defeat the Kyuubi, to protect their son. His father, in an explosion caused by an unknown party in the middle of the village. Mikoto-san, who whopped him hard after he killed Rin, yet still gave him a comforting hug in the end, who died from her own son's blade_ ), when he failed someone _(Itachi, why, why, why? He thought he was nice, thought he was loyal, thought they were similar),_ when he failed and failed and failed and failed.

Mr. Carrot is always there and it makes Kakashi happy, and really, how fucked up must he be to be _happy_ because of the presence of a single, smiling carrot?

But he is.

He's an adult, he doesn't need cuddling partners anymore, no matter how Gai likes to offer such thing for him.

( _There hasn't been any more cuddling partners, not after she's gone. Not ever)._

Mr. Carrot is enough.

* * *

Hatake Kakashi is known for keeping a strange pair of carrot and tomato plush toys within his room. Some time within his life, the tomato disappeared for a few years, only to come back sometime later.

Everyone knows not to ever question his tastes in plush toys. ( _And everyone knows not to try to steal them, an ANBU has suffered enough one time, and nobody is willing to try it out ever again)._

Everyone knows that during a certain day in every year, he never goes out from his room even if the Hokage is asking for him or if the whole world is on fire, only to lie in bed and stare at the carrot. _(Everyone knows not to question it. Yamato suffered enough that one time._ )

Naruto and Sakura knows of Mr. Carrot as the toy their sensei pushes at them when they were sad over Sasuke's betrayal.

Naruto knows of Mr. Carrot as this cool orange smiling carrot, and he thinks maybe he'll like this certain vegetable, only because it's orange.

Sakura knows of Mr. Carrot because of the way Kakashi smiles at her when he lends the plush for a short while for her to cuddle with, when she's still sad over Sasuke's betrayal.

Nobody really understands, though, on why he keeps it even to this age and day.

The one who knows are dead, really.

Except for him, and, well, maybe Gai, too.

* * *

Mr. Carrot smiles at him every morning,

and Kakashi smiles back.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So basically this is the Bad End where Kakashi is so emotionally stunted he seeks comfort from a plush toy. (There are real people out there with this kind of issue, guys, so it isn't really a joking matter).
> 
> This idea popped out when I started writing about Mr. Carrot, okay? Sue me.
> 
> A free cuddling session from Mr. Carrot for your thoughts?


	7. Bad End 1.5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Kakashi can be a good teacher when he wants to.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warnings: major character death, fluff, kakashi needs a hug, hints(?) of onesided kakarin

"Sensei, what is that?" Sakura asks him, her earlier immense sadness (and quite embarrassingly, self pity) nearly forgotten for the strange thing happening in front of her. There he is, her sensei, holding a carrot plush toy, worn by age and well taken care of. In fact, her sensei is currently extending the plush toy toward her. What in the world...?

"This," Kakashi says lightly, "is Mr. Carrot."

An unladylike snort leaves her at the name, and she slaps her hands on her lips in horror. But Kakashi doesn't get angry as she predicted, he simply smiles. "I know," Kakashi nods solemnly, "the name is very lame. I am quite sure Mr. Carrot died a little bit inside when he was first named as... well, Mr. Carrot."

"Then why did you name him that?" Actually, why did Kakashi even name his plush toys? Why did Kakashi even own a carrot plushy in the first place? And why the hell is he still keeping it until now?!

"That is the thing, I did not name him," ah, that explains things. "Mr. Carrot here," Kakashi speaks, sitting down beside her slouching as always, "belonged to my best friend. She gave it to me when I was sad so I could be happy. Mr. Carrot has been with me ever since."

Sakura's eyes widen at Kakashi's story, and the romantic she is, she can't help but ask.

"For you to keep it this long, you must really love her, huh, Sensei?" Sakura looks off to the distance, thinking of how it must be nice, to have someone to love you this much that they will even hold a mere plush toy to their old days, and misses on how beside her, Kakashi seems to flinch, on how Kakashi tenses ever so slightly.

"Maa, I guess," Kakashi answers, then, and this time Sakura notices on how his tone seems to change. "She's dead, though, so it doesn't really matter if I do, does it?"

Sakura inwardly curses her stupid mouth the very moment she sees the look in Kakashi's eyes, and apologizes profusely. Kakashi merely chuckles, however, and shrugs her apology off.

"Anyway, Mr. Carrot here," he shakes the carrot in his grip, "is really good at giving cuddles and listening to all of your troubles, Mr. Carrot likes to make you happy, you know?"

"Sensei... Plush toys don't give you cuddles..."

"Maa, so little imagination, are you really a teenager?" He mock sighs, but still gives the carrot to Sakura anyway, saluting as soon as the carrot is out from his grasp and into Sakura's instead. "You can talk with Mr. Carrot for today... and maybe tomorrow..." He trails off, "but not more than two days, because Mr. Carrot gets lonely without me. Make sure he doesn't get wet, or torn, or basically anything else. Bye-bye!"

"What?! Wait, Kakashi-se-" Too late, he's gone.

Sakura sighs, eyeing the smiling carrot in her hold. Really... That sensei of hers is really bad at comforting AND talking to girls. Who the heck gives a crying girl an old plush toy? Granted, the carrot is really cute...

She can't help but think that perhaps, he comes to Sakura because just like how she's sad that Sasuke has left her, he understands how it is to lose the person you loves.

(And she thinks on how this person is dead, and thinks that Kakashi certainly has it worse. For how hurt must it feel like to love someone for so long, even when they're dead and the only thing that is left from them is a single vegetable plushy?)

* * *

Mr. Carrot smiles at Sakura,

and tentatively, Sakura smiles back a little.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I have finals starting on the 5th of december so this is like a goodbye chapter for you all
> 
> i will come back in two or three weeks, depending on how stressed i am, lmao
> 
> comment for kakashi's smile!


	8. That Student, She Loves Her

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Mikoto loves her student very much.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Some of my friends asked me, what is in the Confession Arc, exactly?
> 
> Well, confessions, of course, and some dramas, ridiculousness, sugar galore, perhaps angst because I love angst, and sprinkles of humor (Though I still don't know if that arc will happen or not). Something like this, probably:
> 
> _"In my defense—"_
> 
> _"Please, don't." Kakashi interjects._
> 
> _I ignore him. "Your father's ass is really nice to look at."_
> 
> _"Oh my God."_
> 
> As promised, this is a chapter about Mikotoooo! I love her. Who else loves her? You have to fight Fugaku to have her, because damn son, Fugaku is one protective cinnamon asshole. Still a cinnamon roll, but with asshole Uchiha tendencies, and he ain't giving you his wife without any sort of fight! He'll die if that means ya ain't getting his wife.
> 
> (he will gladly plan a coup and die for his sons, as well.
> 
> ...Oops.).
> 
> Warnings: Undisputed Badass Uchiha Mikoto, MIKOTO IS A REALLY NICE SENSEI OKAY SHE DESERVES BETTER IN CANON DAMN IT, Fugaku Deserves Uchiha's Best Cheesecake.
> 
> Enjoy reading!

Mikoto doesn't really want to be a teacher.

She is born to be in the battlefield, to slay and kill, not to teach little children. She doesn't even have any teaching experiences other than babysitting and demonstrating some of the Clan jutsu to her little cousins. She never thinks of wanting to teach her legacy to little kids, never really has a passion in it.

Therefore it is a surprise when Sarutobi Hiruzen asks her to be the jounin sensei of a genin. Just one. Singular, not three in a single package like what most jounin get. A little girl, Third Generation Shinobi, thought of as a genius for being able to graduate in a year.

Or, well, almost graduate. Mikoto is a bit bemused when she finds that the girl rejected Hokage's offer in graduating early in favor of kunoichi classes. Most girls will find that kind of class useless, surely it can't be that she sees the actual uses of such classes? She's young, and although she's a genius, to actually see and understand the applications of such classes in the future of her life as a kunoichi…

In a way, perhaps that is what intrigues Susanoo no Mikoto to try it out.

When the girl sees him, there's recognition in her eyes, as well as surprise and disbelief. Well then, she guesses that her abilities are still known even in the eyes of shinobi wannabes.

And when she actually passes the exam (no matter if it's a rather simple one considering that Mikoto sees her age and thinks it's unfair if she goes all out for the poor kid)— _well._

Mikoto doesn't know what to expect, merely hoping they'll get a good time together even for the short time they will have as teacher and student—with her upcoming marriage and Clan Matriarch duty and all—and besides, the girl— Nohara Rin—doesn't seem to be arrogant like most geniuses. In fact, she is… really sweet and cute, like any harmless little girls out there.

And won't it be great, if she can still maintain such harmless look, and yet obliterate her enemies at the same time?

There are few accomplished kunoichi these days—and while she thinks it is okay for women to be a faithful wife, for that is what she is going to do in the future, she damn well wants to be the strong kunoichi she aspires to be since she was a mere five years old—and if Mikoto gets the chance to make this person, this child, into an accomplished, strong ninja through the ways of kunoichi…

Mikoto smiles to herself.

This will be fun.

* * *

Rin is a diligent student, always happy to get new knowledge and although at first she was hesitant, she's grown into the kind of student who will ask questions when she's confused. Though it doesn't need Mikoto much time to figure out that the girl is confused, her expression and emotions—especially her eyes—have always been very… honest.

Some would argue that such blatant honesty within a person's expression will be suicide for shinobi, kunoichi alike.

But that spark of emotions within her eyes, Mikoto has seen it within Kushina, her best friend who is a feared kunoichi of her own—the Red Hot Habanero—and within the genius, Minato, as well. She's heard of how the Shodaime was an honest, kind man, and he was ( _is)_ feared by the whole nations as the God of Shinobi.

Being a shinobi doesn't mean that you have to be emotionless.

And seeing her student, she believes that Rin will be the exact kind of great ninja who will still let her bright exuberance blind everyone within her path even in old age.

Mikoto will make sure of it.

* * *

"Mikoto-sensei!" is the only warning she gets before one Nohara Rin crashes onto her like a bull. Mikoto doesn't grunt, merely circling her arms around the small kunoichi's shoulder, listening as the girl babbles.

"Thankyouthankyouthankyouthankyou _thank youuuu!"_

Rin's hug on her is tight, but Mikoto doesn't mind. And knowing exactly what the girl is talking about, the future Uchiha Matriarch simply smiles.

"I take it that he told you already?"

"Yes!" Rin lets her go and smiles brightly. "He's really happy. I think he takes pride that he can call you Aunt now. He's smiling for the whole day, too, his cheeks are kind of like squishy pao!"

The Uchiha chuckles, for it is true that Obito is one cheerful Uchiha. When Rin came at her to tell that she beat up a couple of Uchiha, Mikoto had wondered if the Uchiha was bullying Rin for her position as her apprentice. Afterall, she is merely Third Generation Shinobi and is not affiliated to any clan; Mikoto is not so stupid as to think that no one will think that her teaching Rin is a waste of time.

She knows there are some within her clan that doesn't like that she's teaching someone so _insignificant_ , and that the Hokage doesn't know how to _respect_ Susanoo no Mikoto's abilities, which is stupid because Mikoto is fairly happy to be Rin's teacher. For all of her some strange quirks (like that one time she sung about lions… because of lions. Mikoto didn't and still doesn't understand. Why lions? Because lions, apparently), she's a really nice and honestly wonderful student. Mikoto will not let anyone replace Rin.

That's why she feared the worst, feared that finally some Uchiha decided to take matters to their own hands and picked a fight with her student—she let her fierce protectiveness and righteous fury to well up inside of her at that very moment. Rin is her _student,_ and people will know _not to touch her_ or they will face the damn consequences!—and perhaps even belittled her reputation as a _prodigy_ , which Rin had told her that it is not true, for all of her abilities are from sheer hardwork alone.

But that was not the case.

Rin was protecting a friend, an Uchiha friend, and that detail made Mikoto's blood run cold.

An Uchiha beaten up by Uchiha.

 _Disgusting_ , her mind sneered. _Treating own Clan member like dirt. They deserved the beatings._

And so, with pride in her mind—her student really _is_ great!—she settled things within her own accords.

That day, she gained a boy who will call her as his beloved Aunt even in the near future.

* * *

"I want to take in Rin as my daughter."

Fugaku's head snap to her direction, his eyes wide in shock. Not surprising, considering they aren't even married yet and Mikoto is already thinking of adopting someone? Not just any other person, either, but her student?

Mikoto stares back at her future husband with a steady gaze, "she lost her parents recently."

"Everyone lost their parents, and even more during a war like this, Mikoto," is Fugaku's patient and shaky reply. He's a bit bewildered, true, for what really pushes Mikoto into thinking about this? Surely it's not only her student's parents dying, right? Mikoto is smarter than that.

"She's my student," Mikoto answers readily, "and I have to admit that I've seen her more than that recently. Perhaps it is because I've seen that I will soon have a family of my own," she gazes softly at Fugaku—the one person she never thought she would marry until the Elders literally dumped it on her lap, the person who surprisingly is considerate over her needs, the person who _loves_ Mikoto even if Mikoto still doesn't know if she loves him back or not and is _still_ loving her even when he knows, he _knows_ , of her indecision—and she lets out a small smile.

"But I love Rin as if she is my own, and when I saw her, so torn, I can't help but want to support her. Not because I'm her teacher—but because I love her. She's an amazing child, and you know it." Perhaps know it better than any other Uchiha beside Mikoto and her friend Obito, for Rin has taken it a hobby to subtly give Fugaku well-placed pranks that Kushina will be proud of.

As the last argument, she says—

"She will be a great big sister," Mikoto says with a big smile, "for our children."

And Fugaku's face blows red like a person stuck inside the sauna far too long, making the Susanoo Mistress let out a startled, pleased laugh.

He catches the implication behind it, clearly—the sheer invitation and _acceptation_ , the genuine affection—and Fugaku swallows a lump in his throat, looking torn between embarrassed beyond belief and extreme giddiness. It makes him look like a constipated tomato, really.

Coughing to his fist, he tries to seem cool as cucumber. "If you wish."

He knows he's not fooling Mikoto, with how she raises her eyebrow at him in amusement.

Still, he thinks back on the implication of those words, thinks on how finally she really _shows_ her agreement to try to love him, her future husband, and can't help but to let out a small giddy smile, his face still red.

Mikoto smirks.

_How adorable._

* * *

It is time.

Graduation is nearing them, and it is time for her to finally let go of her student. It's a shame, because Mikoto wants to be the one who shapes Rin to be the brilliant kunoichi she will be, to be the one who watches her grow. But she has her own duty as the Uchiha Clan Matriarch, as soon as she marries Fugaku, and thus, she has to let Rin go.

But, well.

That doesn't mean she can make sure that whoever the teacher is, it's a _damn good_ teacher. Because if Rin—her student, her adopted _daughter_ —doesn't get the very best, she's going to call upon Biwako-sama and Kushina, and maim Sarutobi Hiruzen for being incompetent in choosing a teacher for the so-called _genius_ , possibly helping his brilliant wife into gluing The Third Hokage on his own face on the Hokage Monument.

It's not the first time she's seen it happen. Granted, she never really helped when Biwako-sama, with the help of a positively cackling Uzumaki Kushina, pressed The Third with super glue _and_ showered him with glitters (courtesy of Kushina) on The Third's Monument face's nose during her anger streak (she's heard of tales of Mito-sama doing the same to the Shodaime, only with super strength and chakra chains, and thinks it's perhaps a tradition for Hokage's wives. The Nidaime was lucky he was single when he was alive, though perhaps he was single because of _that_ , and she mentally prays for luck for whoever gets the position as the Yondaime), but if it's for her student, she will _gladly_ do it, Hokage be damned.

Ah, happy thoughts.

With that thought in mind, she prepares herself for her meeting with the Hokage.

* * *

"No."

Her answer is clear and final, and she makes sure everyone knows that.

 _Everyone_ , she thinks as her gaze is pointedly settled on the one man seated next to Koharu.

The man gazes back at her, steady and cold, and Mikoto has to suppress a chill from his stare.

"My suggestion is not entirely unfounded," Shimura Danzo states, calmly, _way_ too calmly for Mikoto's comfort. "Provided that I have all the things she will need to grow and flourish as a shinobi."

Koharu and Homura, the damned _fools_ , are nodding. Only Hiruzen stays silent. Listening, observing.

"No is still no," Mikoto stands her ground, fully glaring right now. If only Danzo won't take Sharingan blaring as a threat, the doujutsu will be out right now. "I am _not_ letting my student into your private army!"

"A private army that belongs to Konoha—"

"It doesn't matter," she interrupts, watching how Danzo's eye narrows, "I am not giving her to you."

Koharu huffs, folding her arms, "you're merely a jounin, you have no right to demand where this girl goes. We are in _war_ , and if Danzo can make her into the type of shinobi Konoha needs, then shall it be done."

"I will _not—"_

"Calm down," The Third Hokage interrupts, and for one horrifying moment, Mikoto is shrouded with the fear that Hiruzen will listen to Danzo's suggestion instead. "I have already prepared a sensei for your student."

The Hokage smiles.

"Namikaze Minato seems like a nice choice, yes?"

If Biwako-sama isn't so scary, she will probably kiss the old Kage right now.

Probably.

Probably not, though.

Even still, protests rise from the Council Elders.

"Hiruzen, you can't possibly—"

"Pinning another genius in his hands? It will get out of hand!"

"It is clear that I am more experienced in dealing this—"

"I believe in Namikaze Minato, sir," Mikoto interrupts, because she's tired of hearing their bullshit right now. She is not giving out her daughter to the War Hawk and that's fucking _final_. "His student, Hatake, is Rin's bestfriend, I am sure their teamwork will run along smoothly."

Danzo snorts derisively, "Namikaze Minato may be a genius, but he's _young_ and frankly very new and inexperienced as a jounin sensei. With two geniuses within his plate, he won't be able to handle it."

"Now, now, Danzo," Hiruzen placates, still sounding pleasantly calm. "I believe in Minato-kun as well."

"You're running on sentimentality alone, Hiruzen," Danzo spits out, "Just because Namikaze is your student's prized student, it doesn't mean that he is as great as that toad fool thinks he is."

"It is not sentimentality, my friend. Namikaze Minato has proven to be an adequate jounin sensei, and has known Nohara-kun for quite awhile as well. Adding the fact that Hatake Kakashi is Nohara-kun's best friend, it is a good idea to fit her within his team, isn't it? Minato _is_ waiting for two genin to fill up the blank spots within his team, after all. And the graduating class is missing two people to make a proper team because of Nohara-kun and Hatake-kun's early graduations. Not only it will solve the unbalance within team placement, it gives promise of a solid teamwork."

Hiruzen smiles, the glint in his eyes showing that he's winning and he _knows_ it.

"It is clearly the best choice to put her in that team, is it not?"

Hearing sound arguments from the Hokage, the Council Elders are left to mutter to themselves.

Mikoto thinks she will forgo helping Biwako-sama and Kushina in gluing Hiruzen to his giant Monument nose, the next time around.

Now... Time to find Minato and give him a _nice_ talk about Minato.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Aaaaand done! Poor Minato, he gets an earful and many many threats from Mikoto. You don't want to hurt what an Uchiha thinks as theirs, after all. It leads to a bad bad thing you don't wish to know of.
> 
> It doesn't help that Kushina is in the background, snickering at his misery.
> 
> What do you think of this chapter? Please review!
> 
> Within a month, the next chapter of EI will be ready! (Let's hope I get it done before that deadline, tbh).
> 
> Also,
> 
> Next chapter for OSOI:
> 
> BAD END II - OROCHIMARU


	9. That Girl, He Wants Her Back

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> BAD END II - OROCHIMARU

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Guys, guys, I'm cackling. Your responses to Oro-chan-san's suffering are amazing; they always make me smile or laugh. Don't worry, there are more sufferings stuffed in this chapter. There are some points in this chapter that DEFINITELY WILL appear in future EI chapters, whether happening with more thorough description or mere mention within the future chapters, but I'm warning you that this chapter is VERY close to EI canon.
> 
> Very close, because I haven't decided yet about Rin's fate in EI.
> 
> I'm not answering questions here, because I answer questions on EI. However, let's mention some of my favorite comments:
> 
> "And that kids, it's why Oro-chan-san prefer little boys over girls." – Warlord of Chaos
> 
> "Rin just made it sound like Danzo is trying to get recruit them for a prostitution ring." – OneWhoReadsTooMuch
> 
> "FUCK DANZO WITH A SPIKY CACTUS." – MoonlitMelody
> 
> "It's official, I ship Inomaru and Gai. They would be cute together." – X Mika-Chan X
> 
> Also, for Lalathefox, I am keeping your fantastic idea of Canon Kakashi meeting with EI Kakashi! My brain is already flooding with ideas. Can you imagine the possibilities?! The many switches than can happen?! Like, Sasuke kills Orochimaru, and suddenly the one who comes back alive is EI Orochimaru, who knows nothing about him giving a hickey to an Uchiha, gets dragged into the Fourth Great Ninja World War and Oro-chan-san is PISSED. 'Fuck off. No. I am not helping. This world can burn for all I care. Why the fuck is the cheesecake Uchiha blabbing about genjutsu nonsense? And here I thought I was the creepy one.'
> 
> Or Canon Obito meeting EI Obitobi… Canon Kakashi meeting EI Rin… Oooooh boy, it's going to be a clusterfuck. I'll write this idea up sometime later, I guess.
> 
> Anyway, warning:
> 
> **BECAUSE THIS IS MOSTLY FROM OROCHIMARU'S POINT OF VIEW, THIS CHAPTER MAY BE SEEN AS JIRAIYA, TSUNADE, AND HIRUZEN BASHING. HOWEVER, PLEASE NOTE THAT THIS IS OROCHIMARU'S OWN THOUGHTS AND IS VERY MUCH BIASED. I DON'T WANT ANY OF YOU TO ACCUSE ME OF DOING CHARACTER BASHING. I DON'T LIKE CHARACTER BASHING; I'M JUST SHOWING WHAT OROCHIMARU THINKS OF THEM, THANK YOU VERY MUCH.**
> 
> (Other) Warnings: feels, angst, fluff, being Kakashi is suffering, Orochimaru stares at Fate and Death in the eyes and gives them a very not pleasant 'fuck you', complete with his middle fingers.

Humans are fragile creatures.

They get broken easily, they disappear easily.

One moment, and when they're dead, they're nothing.

Nothing but a pile of meat.

Nothing but a bunch of skeletons.

Nothing but ashes on the ground.

Nothing.

( _"Mom?" A whisper to the wind, the small pale white hands clutching the dirtied cream colored kimono. The side of his shoulder is burnt, and it hurts, it stings, but still he forces himself to take a step forward. One step, two steps, three steps. "Dad?"_

_He stumbles. He whimpers. There's an unrecognizable lump of burnt flesh in front of him, giving off a disgusting smell. His eyes wander to the surroundings, to the smell of burning flesh and wood, to the pools and splatters of blood decorating the ruins of what once he calls as his home._

_His home is not the only one crushed under the attack, too._

_He hears wailings, screams, pleads._

" _Mom?" He tries again, "Dad?"_

_No answer._

_Someone is screaming, it's not his parents._

_Panic settles itself on his chest and he heaves, his breaths coming in short and fast, the boy's eerie yellow eyes looking around frantically._

" _Mom? Dad? Where are you?"_

_He does not dare to shout._

_He hears cries, screams, pleads…_

_He pays them no heed._

_All he can think of is that it's not his parents' voice, not his parents, not his parents, not his parents—_

_His eyes settle once again on the corpse in front of him._

_Who is_ that _?_

"… _Mom?"_

_Silence._

_There's a kid crying. He realizes belatedly that it's him._

_He tries again._

"… _Dad?"_

_The corpse doesn't answer._

_He falls to his knees, his eyes simply wandering between the lump of flesh in front of him, the other one near his right, another a few meters behind the right one, and another on his left._

_He doesn't know which one is his parents'._

_One of them must be his parents—_

_One of them must be—_

_A sob bubbles out of the boy's mouth, and the thought of his parents as nothing but mere burnt flesh is enough to make him vomit._ )

Humans…

Are fragile.

They die easily,

And they break easily.

He's been broken already, once upon a time, nothing but a mere large crack in his heart.

Luckily, cracks are easy to mend if done accordingly.

Jiraiya is the first to mend him, the obnoxious brat and his laughter, his idiocy and sometimes surprising acts of genius, especially in terms of seals.

They butt heads all the time, but Jiraiya is refreshing when he wants to be.

And then Tsunade comes, the Mother Hen of all Mother Hens, or so Orochimaru thinks at the time, because she fusses over him and takes care of him and worries for him even if she's very scary and… It's nice.

Then Hiruzen-sensei comes and teaches him and cares for him as if he's his own son and it's…

It feels really _good_.

It feels like heaven, like the first sip of a high quality honey, sending pleasure and contentment throughout his very beings.

His life is fine. He likes to think there are no cracks anymore. He's a shinobi of Konoha, a soldier to protect his new _home_.

He's happy.

Then of course it has to break all over again.

And it doesn't happen in a flash, like how it once was, with his parents. It happens slowly, but surely. The previously mended cracks are breaking once more under the force of agony seeping into his very own bones.

It starts with Nawaki.

He likes the boy, Tsunade's little brother, who snickers at him when Tsunade threatens to pummel him to the ground if he ever forgets to eat properly, who asks him to teach him about expert weapon handling, who dreams to be the Hokage.

That dream ends with a single blow,

And Nawaki is nothing but mere unrecognizable lump of burnt flesh.

( _"You don't have to bother." He says, unable to even take a single glance toward Tsunade._

" _You can't even recognize his face anymore, all of it has been bur—"_

" _Orochi!")_

Then Dan dies, another who wanted to be Hokage, another who Tsunade loves very dearly—

Tsunade cries, and cries, and cries—

Orochimaru watches through it all.

She cries, she mourns, she _breaks_.

He wants to help her like she's done to him, but what can a broken man do?

Soon enough, Tsunade changes.

Soon enough, she's nothing but mere husk of the fiery, terrifying woman she once was, nothing but mere shadow of the woman he once loved as his demonic mother hen teammate.

( _"I'm done," Tsunade says, her tone flat and eyes haunted, dark rings under her eyes._

" _Hime?" Orochimaru beckons, but Tsunade simply shakes her head._

" _I'm… I'm done. I'm done. Not this. No more."_

"… _What do you mean?"_

" _I can't, Oro," she whispers, lips trembling. "I_ can't _."_

 _Orochimaru doesn't let himself to demand, to force The Slug Princess, to insist that she_ can, _he knows she can, dammit, she has to._

_He doesn't._

_Instead, he simply says, "I see."_

_Tsunade smiles at him, wry humor plastered on it. "You're as unsympathetic as usual."_

_That's not true._

_Orochimaru stays silent._

"… _I… I'll take Shizune when she becomes chuunin." Tsunade hesitates, licking her lips. "Until then, can you…?"_

Don't let her die _, is what she wants to ask him._

_Orochimaru nods._

" _Of course, hime."_

"… _Thank you, Oro."_

" _I believe you'll come back soon?"_

"… _Yeah. Sure.")_

Tsunade leaves him.

And she doesn't come back.

She doesn't.

She fucking _doesn't_.

( _She comes back, once, after Shizune becomes chuunin and Orochimaru sends her his snake to look for her to send that announcement._

_She comes, takes Shizune, and leaves._

_She doesn't look back._

_She doesn't come back, not even for him._

' _Liar,' his mind hisses. 'You're a liar'._

_She's a liar._

_Liar, liar, LIAR!_

'… _How could you?'_

_Tsunade leaves._

' _Come back, Hime.'_

_She never comes back.)_

And Jiraiya—

For all he says about friends and comrades and _Will of Fire_ —It takes him three orphans to forget about Orochimaru altogether and Tsunade leaving to insist on his spy network and walk away from Konoha.

He comes by once in awhile, of course, but it's rare and far inbetween, and he's more busy with reporting what his network finds and _researching_ , as well as spending time with his all-time genius Namikaze to twiddle thumbs over magnificent seal work to really bother much with Orochimaru.

His sensei is Hokage and he's more busy with the village than to care about Orochimaru's needs to ramble about his research discoveries.

They all moved on.

Tsunade moves away from her nightmares ( _Coward_ , his mind hisses, _coward, liar, traitor! You abandoned me!_ ), Jiraiya moves his interest toward things other than Orochimaru ( _I grew up with you, I fought in battles and war with you, how could you forget me so easily?_ ), and Hiruzen is focusing on the betterment of the village than the one he likes to think as his son ( _If this is how you treat your sons, I am glad I am_ not _your son_ ).

They moved on, and they are still moving on.

Not him.

They're moving on without him.

_(Are they leaving him behind, or is it him being unable to catch up?_

_Which one is wrong, which one is right?_ )

How is he supposed to _move on_ from the people who mended his soul and made him feel whole?

How is he supposed to _move on_ from his home?

* * *

Years pass, and his home is cold and lonely, whispers upon whispers around him, terrified looks and pointing toward his eerie appearance, disdain toward his accomplishment and apparent genius minds.

' _Monster'_ , they say. ' _A demon.'_

' _How can the Hokage let him live?'_ they hiss, ' _What if he kills us in his sleep!?'_

' _We should ask the Hokage to kill him,'_ another says, _'or detain him, at the very least.'_

' _He's very scary.'_

' _Creepy! Mom, who is that creepy white man?'_

Hiruzen must have heard the rumors. He must've. He's Hokage, and shinobi gossips harder than rabid housewives. Orochimaru believes he must've heard about it.

But the rumors never stop, the mutterings never stop.

It's gotten increasingly uncomfortable.

It's uncomfortable to be uncomfortable in his own home, he thinks.

So he tells Hiruzen.

But—

But then—

"I'm sorry for what they say about you, my boy," Hiruzen says, smiling sadly.

That's it.

That's it?!

' _If you're sorry, then why are you not doing anything about it?!'_ He wants to demand.

' _Why are you not speaking against it?_ ' He wants to ask.

' _Why are you only sitting here, smiling at me? Do your job, you senile old man!'_

Orochimaru stays silent.

He doesn't let himself dwell into it too long, but he in that moment, he sees Hiruzen as weak minded and easily swayed.

For not speaking up against it means that somewhere deep down, his sensei must have agreed with their words.

The words claiming he's a monster.

 _(He never quite realizes it until it's too late, until he's neck deep in his_ sins _and his_ monstrosity _, until he's drowning in his disdain and hate and bitterness, unable to crawl back out to the warmth his Konoha once provided for him._

 _He never really realizes it, but that time when Hiruzen clearly did nothing to defend him was the one event that started his gradual increase of his detachment against Konoha._ )

* * *

A snake monster. There's no way a human can be that strong.

There's no way a human can be that cunning, that smart.

There's no way a human can be that apathetic.

Not human, not human.

Not human—

Not—

" _Hey, rude ass man_! Think before you speak!" The girl in front of him snaps, sending a glare toward the suddenly pale civilian seating five seats away from them. Perhaps he thinks that they won't hear, just like any other foolish civilians out there. They're ninja, they're basically trained to be cautious and in constant vigilance; it's not hard to find out that someone a few tables near them are talking about _him_. It doesn't help that the civilian mentioned _purple markings, creepy eyes, too white skin to be normal human_ , as well.

"You can't just say someone is _not_ human, did your mother even teach you _manners_? Even if you want to badmouth someone, you don't do that near the person who can hear you talking so loudly like a waterfall!" That's an exaggeration, he's sure. She can't possibly be that good with her sensing; she's not a tracker after all.

Still, it does its job, because the civilian man looks absolutely terrified.

The waitress standing near them looks terrified; perhaps she's waiting for a one-sided slaughter, done either by him or the girl who tries too hard to look like an angry kitten.

"Can you be quiet? I really, really want to eat this spicy chicken in peace," she says, then, and suddenly she doesn't look all that scary anymore—or so the waitress and civilian thinks, Orochimaru doesn't think she looks scary _at all_ —although the scolding look never actually leaves her face.

Receiving no answer, she returns to her plate and eats her spicy chicken while occasionally muttering about possible herbs and spices used to cook said menu.

The civilian man quickly pays for his food and walks out of the restaurant, receiving no acknowledgement from either Orochimaru or the girl.

Nohara Rin glances up at him in the middle of her rapid mutterings of her cooking plan ( _what the hell is 'iga penyet'? He never hears of anything called like that before_ ), and blinks owlishly.

"What's wrong, Oro-chan-san? Do you want more chicken?"

Orochimaru blinks and says with a straight face,

"You have chili stuck in your teeth."

The girl splutters.

* * *

"Oro-chan-san… You _still_ drink black coffee?"

"One more comment about my drink preferences, and you're going to _hope_ you're gulping down black coffee instead, Nohara. Do your training."

The girl lets out a quiet _'meep'_ and shuffles toward the corpse she's supposed to be working on for the day.

She quickly relaxes as her hands move in practiced motions, a far cry from the bumbling, confused child she was a week ago.

In fact, she's certainly getting better in stitching. He's almost sure that she is a natural when it comes to medical ninjutsu and chakra control, she will probably grow into a specialist like Tsunade ( _only there is never anyone like Tsunade,_ is a thought he tramples on rather quickly). Perhaps he can teach her how to remove organs properly in surgeries? Wait… Why is he even contemplating this? She's _not_ his student. Dammit, Kishimoto, he ought to strangle that poison specialist for making him feel _feelings_ , whatever _this_ is—

A soft sound brings him back to reality, and he finds the girl humming.

No, she's _singing_.

…How comfortable must she be around him to be able to stitch and _sing_ in his presence, in his lab?

He's pretty proud of his ability to intimidate his enemies (and he may have indulged in a rather sadistic glee when he succeeds in creeping people the fuck out. Hey, if they want a monster, he'll _give_ them monster), but with the fear and wariness coming from people in his own home-

Although he can still see that even sometimes she's careful around him—wariness seeping into her form, careful eyes eyeing him for few seconds before she'll relax and be that bubbly girl once more—he can appreciate that she can be like… this.

Though he'll never tell her that.

And he doesn't really like that she keeps on bothering him, really.

( _Kishimoto really is not teacher material,_ he thinks, because that damn poison specialist keeps on _pushing Rin towards him! What in the seven hells?!_ )

"…Why are you singing?"

"Eh? Oh! Sorry, did I bother you, Oro-chan-san?"

"I never heard of that song before."

"Oh, uh… Well, I made it?"

"That sounded like a question."

"Er… It's called Zetsu Zetsu!"

"….I see."

"Yeah," she shrugs, "I don't _like_ Zetsu but the title _is_ Zetsu Zetsu and it's not Zetsu-ish like Zetsu so Zetsu Zetsu is an okay Zetsu Zetsu!"

"…." What even. "…Continue your work."

"Sir, yes, sir!"

This girl is infuriating.

But he can, sometimes, see parts of his team from her: Parts of his precious people making themselves known, providing Orochimaru warmth and mocking coldness all at once.

Jiraiya's obnoxiousness, his playful words, the harmless banters, the big grins, the perverted jokes and innuendos, the way both of their eyes light up when meet with something they deem interesting—

There are also Tsunade's interest in chakra control and medical ninjutsu, the temper that shows when she scolds infuriating civilians ( _and isn't that funny, to see her defending him, or more often than not, Hatake Sakumo_ ), her soft smiles, her wicked grins, her motherly instincts sometimes kicking in—

Hiruzen's wisdom, Hiruzen's understanding and warmth, the way both of their eyes crinkle when they smile gently at him—

It's warm, because he misses this, he misses _them_.

It's cold, because he knows she's not _them_ and she'll never be them.

( _They've left,_

 _But she hasn't._ )

It's _wrong_ to compare this… this child with his team, he knows. With the team that is no more, the team that is now different from what Orochimaru remembers and cherishes.

And yet,

There are parts of them in her, somehow.

Somehow.

And perhaps, he likes her better because of it.

* * *

 _You have to stop now,_ his mind whispers one day, when the girl fumbles over the poison he inflicted upon himself, mumbling about his apparent stupidity and nonexistent self-preservation.

It's been months and she hasn't left.

_You have to stop._

It's been months and she stays.

_Don't compare her to them._

_After all, if she's that similar to them—_

_She'll leave you behind as well, no?_

Orochimaru stops comparing her to them.

* * *

He knows Danzo has probably approached Nohara and invited her into his ROOT program, and while he raises an eyebrow at her apparent refusal in following the councilor, he doesn't know if he must laugh or feel disgusted at what she implies with her words.

It's very likely she doesn't know extensively about ROOT, because Danzo is not that stupid, no matter if he's overconfident in himself most of the times, she simply says that Danzo… _invited_ her to _come to him_ and she feels creeped out because apparently, she thinks of it in a rather… _sexual_ manner and seems to be under the assumption that Danzo is a pedophile.

Scratch that, she thinks Danzo is a pedophile with some homosexual tendencies, because she thinks Danzo propositioned him.

_She thinks Danzo, who came into his lab yesterday, asked him to have sex with him, and she thinks he's forced to do it._

Orochimaru can't help but blanch a little at that thought.

Even if Danzo offers many research equipment and subjects, he will _not_ have sex with the old coot.

Thank God it's not sex Danzo wants from him. It's something far simpler, and frankly, it's not like it's something he can (and _really want_ ) to refuse either.

He gazes at the nervous— _worried, she's worried_ —girl in front of him, and thinks that it's good that she refuses to join ROOT.

For something so bright to enter the darkness—

She's not fit in there.

( _Just like how Jiraiy_ —

 _Stop_.)

* * *

He's actually interested in the project.

Or at the very least, the possible result from it.

If he succeeds—and he _will_ succeed—he will find an answer to one of the lingering questions that settled itself into his mind ever since his parents' imminent deaths.

But sometimes—

Sometimes—

_("Oro-chan-san?")_

He stops.

Inhale, exhale.

Inhale, exhale.

Inhale—

He continues.

* * *

He finds her, one day, sitting inside of the lab they seldom visit after the war has progressed even further and she moving to the frontlines, after he's gotten busy with his project and training Anko at the same time.

The only reason he knows she's there is because of the blue eyed white boa she affectionately named Nagisa, who takes it to inform him of her arrival. He's taken to leaving the boa inside of his old lab to keep guard of his papers and corpses inside, because orders to do the project or not, Hiruzen still gives him autopsy duties.

He opens the door to his lab, and finds Nohara Rin sitting on his office chair, Nagisa draped around her like a scarf. The long and admittedly rather fat white boa circles her neck and one of her arm, and yet she doesn't find any sort of horror from that sort of thing. In fact, she seems to find comfort from the blue eyed beauty, and Nagisa gleefully gives her the comfort she needs, nudging the kunoichi's cheek with his head.

The girl's eyes are red and puffy, the obvious telltale signs of crying, and there's a haunted look in her eyes.

( _His mind shutters for awhile, because he knows that look—_

_Because Tsunade—_

_Stop._ )

"Oro-chan-san," the girl greets him, smiling a small wry smile. "Were you on a break?"

"…Yes," he lies, eyeing the sniffling girl in front of him. He can't tell her that his hand had been fist deep inside a child's stomach mere minutes ago, after all. What will she think about him, if she knows?

 _("Oro-chan-san,"_ the girl in his dream says, the tone different and cold and similar to the people who scorn him, sweet and regretful and it's _mocking_ him.

" _I'm sorry—"_

Her voice overlaps with Hiruzen's, then, and Orochimaru shudders.

"— _for what they say about you, my boy."_

"— _but you really are a monster."_ )

"Oh," Nohara sounds disappointed, wilting a little bit. Nagisa nudges her cheek in comfort. "I wanted to eat steak…"

Orochimaru raises an eyebrow. "Is that the only reason you barged into my lab?"

She smiles sheepishly, albeit a little strained. "Is it not allowed?"

He looks at her pointedly, and the girl deflates.

"Obito got crushed under a rock," she says.

…Well, then.

"I take it he's crippled?" Orochimaru inquiries. He crosses his arms and blinks when the girl's eyes darken as she scoffs.

"No," she spits rather bitterly, "We couldn't get him out and the cave collapsed."

Orochimaru has nothing to say on that.

Luckily, he doesn't have to say anything, because she simply curls into herself and lets out a half wail half sob.

"We _left_ him there," she sobs, " _we fucking left him there._ We could've—I could've prevented it, I could've—! _Kalau aku nggak kenapa-kenapa, kalau aku nggak—_ "

He doesn't say anything, furrowing his eyebrows when she starts to rant in a code that he never knows before.

" _Dia ada di tangan kakek tua busuk itu! Aku harus gimana? Aku nggak bisa—Aku nggak tahu guanya ada di mana, aku nggak tahu_ Obito _ada di mana—kalau dia jadi_ Tobi _, aku nggak tahu harus gimana—_ "

It takes her some more time to ramble, and then she stops, heaving and huffing, her face turned away from him in an attempt to hide her tears and Nagisa peering from her head to stare at Orochimaru in a silent demand to _do something_ ; which is silly, because Orochimaru knows literally nothing in regards to comforting a grieving person.

He can't comfort Tsunade, so why the hell is Nagisa expecting him to do it for Nohara? Ridiculous.

Nohara sighs, rubs the tears away from her eyes and _smiles_ at him.

"Sorry, Oro-chan-san."

He doesn't mention about her definitely dead teammate.

"I don't know the code you're using."

The girl shoots him an amused grin, no matter if they're wobbly, no matter if the eyes are still haunted and full of grief and regret and _Tsunade—she looks like Tsunade—_

"Of course not," she says rather haughtily, "I made it myself."

"…Of course you do."

"…You don't believe me, do you?"

"Not in the slightest."

She chuckles.

( _It'll be alright._

_She's not Tsunade._

_It'll be alright._ )

* * *

The gir— _subject_ number 57 whimpers from the table, limbs bound, breathing ragged and terrified eyes focused on him.

Orochimaru calmly sedates her.

( _"Oro-chan-san.")_

Subject is unmoving, breathing slow and steady, eyes unfocused—

 _("Oro-chan-san, I'm sorry, but I can't love a monster._ ")

He sinks the scalpel into her stomach.

* * *

"Are you not sad anymore?" He raises an eyebrow at Nohara, the girl looking up to meet his gaze as she munches on mochi, Anko sitting next to her also happily munching on mochi. It's quite amusing, to have Anko somehow _admiring_ Nohara, for reasons unknown to him.

For all he knows, the girl is only polite to Nohara and that Yamanaka boy with cutting sweet murder smile, though less so with the latter, simply because Nohara doesn't mind her loud and impolite nature in the slightest, simply smiling at Anko's loud dirty mouth and sometimes even _encouraging_ her.

He hasn't gotten the story as to _why_ , though, because Anko is _never_ polite and it intrigues him to know the reason behind her respect toward the medic nin and Yamanaka.

Still, the matter at hand is more intriguing.

Nohara blinks, and shrugs.

"I've gotten tired of being sad all the time."

This time it's Orochimaru's turn to blink. Because _what_?

"I was angry that Obito… you know, but then I got annoyed at myself for moping and sulking all the time, so…" She trails off, shrugging.

"…You got annoyed at yourself."

"Yeah," she nods, as if it's the most obvious thing in the world. "It was really pathetic of me. If I really want to change things, I mustn't… cry because one thing goes wrong, y'know."

Anko tilts her head, "change things?"

Nohara gives her a secretive smile, "things."

The dango lover narrows her eyes before she shrugs, popping another mochi into her mouth. At this rate, his wallet is going to be rid of its contents by the time the girls and their blackhole stomachs are done with their mochi buffet.

"So you're not sad that your friend died?" Anko asks without tact, because what is tact? She has basically none. Orochimaru despairs in trying to punch said tact into his student's head. Why did he take a student again? Oh right, because Hiruzen and his sly smelly buttcrack.

"People die all the time," Nohara deflects, staring into her sweet iced tea and letting out a small, sad smile. "But that doesn't mean that I have to stop living, you know?"

* * *

Anko asks her then, _if people die all the time, doesn't that mean that their lives are all in vain?_

It's pessimistic, but even Orochimaru's own views echoes along with Anko's question.

Humans are fragile.

They die all the time.

It's easy for them to perish—

It's easy for them to break—

Their lives, they're all in vain.

Orochimaru knows this.

Orochimaru believes this.

But then—

"No," Nohara refuses, calmly and firmly. "That's not true."

And then, she gives him an answer.

* * *

Orochimaru stares at the child on the operation table in front of him.

He's gotten his answer.

Does he really need to do this, anymore?

He doesn't.

But—

( _"Oro-chan-san."_ )

Orochimaru puts down his scalpel, and walks out of the room.

* * *

"Oro-chan-san," Nohara greets him, then, sitting on his office chair once again, with Nagisa draped around her once again.

"Nohara."

She smiles at him, "I'm going back to the frontlines."

"Is that so."

"Yeah."

Pushing herself to her feet, she calmly lets Nagisa to slither down her arm and settle on the chair. "I wanna say goodbye."

"I see."

"Yep! Goodbye, Oro-chan-san."

She doesn't say _see you later_.

She doesn't promise to come back.

( _"I believe you'll come back soon?"_

_Tsunade smiles. "…Yeah. Sure.")_

"I believe you'll come back soon."

Nohara blinks in surprise, then smiles.

"…We'll see, yeah?"

No promises.

He doesn't know which one he prefers.

* * *

"Why have you stopped the project?" Danzo demands from him, and Orochimaru simply stares at him serenely.

"I have things to do."

"Things to do? Your project is—"

"I have _responsibilities_ ," he interjects, "that are actually _watched over_ by the Hokage. Unfortunately, I am no simple commander who has an entire army. As it will be, I have duties I have to prioritize over a mere _project_."

Danzo narrows his eyes.

"You _will_ continue the project."

He can sense the underlying threat in his words.

"I know, and I will."

He knows.

He's started it, he cannot stop now.

Not unless he want to be pulled under the ROOT commander's schemes and mostlikely blamed for everything happening in the lab.

He'll lose his home, if that happens.

(" _Oro-chan-san! Is this your student?"_

" _Sensei! She called you Oro-chan-san! Oh my god! Can I call you Oro-chan-san-sensei? HAHAHAHAHA!"_ )

He'll lose his _home_.

He doesn't want to lose his home.

He _won't_ lose his home.

* * *

Orochimaru stares.

The body is held within a black scroll, typical body scrolls, and yet tagged with notes regarding potential residue of maleficent chakra possibly coming from a _bijuu_ , out of all things, and Orochimaru is ordered to do a thorough autopsy to make sure the bijuu doesn't magically reforming smack dab in Konoha or something.

His mind was reeling, when he read the notes.

Because _bijuu?_ How the hell did a random Konoha-nin end up with a fucking _bijuu?_ Uzumaki Kushina is still in the frontlines and taking names. Who was unlucky enough to end up getting a bijuu?

He opened the scroll, and then—

Brown hair, purple rectangles on her cheeks, dried blood on her lips and a fist sized _hole_ where the heart was supposed to be—

Orochimaru stares.

* * *

He always likens Jiraiya and Tsunade, his best friends, leaving him behind as them ripping his heart out from his chest.

But of course Nohara has to take it into a whole other level and makes it _literal_.

Hatake Kakashi did this.

Her _best friend_ did this.

He _murdered_ her.

Her _best_ friend.

Orochimaru stares at the report copy of said disastrous battle in the frontlines, and burns it to ashes.

* * *

Home.

His home.

He doesn't want to lose his home.

Not again.

Not anymore.

He _won't_ lose his home.

Orochimaru eyes the subject in front of him, and injects Hashirama's cells within.

* * *

"Orochimaru," Hound says, dropping into a crouch in front of him, poised ready to strike. "You've betrayed Konoha."

Orochimaru glances at him as if he sees nothing more but a fly on the fall, "I have no time for you."

Hound moves to grab his sword, and Orochimaru rolls his eyes.

"Do you not hear me? I have no time for you. I still have to take something important."

Hound tenses, "you are not taking anything from Konoha."

The smile sent towards Hound is wry and mocking. "She doesn't belong to Konoha anymore."

_What?_

Orochimaru moves out of Hound's sight by then, his movements quick as he runs toward _somewhere_. Hound flinches at the sudden disappearance of the Sannin, and scrambles to follow.

( _He shouldn't have._

 _He shouldn't have followed. It would've spared him the pain, then._ )

* * *

"….Wha…"

No.

No. No. No.

What is this?

_What is this?!_

"What is the meaning of this?!" Hound—no, Kakashi—shouts, his grip on his sword tight and muscles clenched, and his eyes trained on the sight in front of him.

The room is embarrassingly painted a soft pastel pink, with _glitter_.

But that's not what caught him offguard.

It's the huge tube in front of him, and the girl he can see inside of it.

_Rin._

_Rin._

_It's Rin. No, it can't be. It can't be!_

_It can't be Rin!_

But Orochimaru glances back at him, and says rather sardonically, "Forgetting the face of the best friend you murdered already? Pity."

Kakashi reels back as if slapped, but Orochimaru pays him no heed. He starts to do something to the tube, and Kakashi doesn't know what, but that is _Rin_ , right there, in that tube filled with green water and adorned with seals on her body and _oh God it's Rin—_ Impossible. Impossible. Impossible! _Why is she here?! She's dead, she was buried! He'd gone to her funeral for fucks sake!_

But she's there. Not breathing ( _dead, dead, dead, his fault, his fault, his fault, this is his fault_ ), but whole. No visible hole where his hand once went through, and if Kakashi doesn't know that she's not breathing, he'll think that she is sleeping, instead.

But there is no mistaking it.

It's _Rin_.

And Orochimaru is doing something to her.

Kakashi attacks.

The fight is over in mere seconds.

With killing intent so potent Kakashi has never felt before in close proximity, the teenage ANBU falls to his knees at the sheer pressure coming from the Sannin.

Orochimaru stares him down for a few seconds as he's left there, mortified and unable to move, unable to stop Orochimaru, unable to get closer to _Rin—_

Orochimaru steps closer and breaks his legs in a single move, making him scream from how swift and painful it is. The Snake Sannin slams Kakashi's head to the ground with his foot, breaking the ANBU mask upon contact, successfully muffling the scream let out from masked lips.

"Forgive me," he doesn't sound sorry at all, "but I can't really have you interfering."

And he turns back to his business, fiddling with the equipment and takes off the tube, watching as the water slowly subsides and Rin's body—she's not breathing, of course she's not breathing, but he hopes, oh how much he _hopes_ —wrapped in purple robes before the Snake Sannin settles her into his arms.

"You... How...?!"

Orochimaru looks down on him, as if he's a piece of an annoying worm that interrupts his moment (in which it probably is, considering how the Sannin has been staring at her face for quite awhile, looking absolutely serene before the sneer replaces it the very moment Kakashi croaks out his question), and raises his eyebrow.

"All this moment, you didn't know that the grave you visited was empty?"

A chill runs down his spine, and if he is able to move, he will probably attempt to cut him down, or retrieve the body, or both.

But he's unable to move, and he can only watch in horror as Orochimaru moves to take her away.

He's taking her away.

From Konoha.

From _Kakashi_.

**No.**

"No!" He shouts, panic and horror seeping into his very being. "You—How dare _you_?! I thought you liked her! I thought you were her _sensei_!"

"How dare _me?_ " Orochimaru scoffs, his next words cutting and harsh. "How dare _you_? You killed her."

"That's not—I didn't—" Excuses, excuses. Kakashi falters, before he bulldozes on _more important thing,_ like Orochimaru experimenting on Rin. "That doesn't mean you can experiment on her, you fucking—"

"For a genius, you are simply very stupid."

"Wh—"

"I wanted her back," Orochimaru rasps out, interrupting him, "I _still_ want her back. With my experiments, I managed to recreate her body parts, the body parts that you destroyed." He ignores Kakashi's flinch, casually looking over the many seals that adorn her feature. "But even with a body ready like this, I still can't figure how to drag the soul back. The Nidaime's Edo Tensei matrix is a good base for the seal, but even that is not enough for a total resurrection."

"W... Wha..."

"I would've thought you'd want her back, what a pity." Orochimaru sighs, as if truly disappointed.

"You... You can't..."

"Can't what, exactly?" An eyebrow raises, and the Snake Sannin scoffs once again, turning around from the Hatake, leaving him on the ground.

"No- You can't- Give her back!"

"Her body is necessary for me to reach my goal, Hatake. It is a pity, but perhaps you can pretend that the grave is not as empty as it is."

"No— You can't take her—"

"Why are you so against this? You'll see her again when she comes back to life."

" _YOU CAN'T BRING PEOPLE BACK TO LIFE!"_

"I can," Orochimaru answers simply. "And I will. Aren't you just terrified that she'll hate you when she gets back alive?"

That's a critical blow to the young Hatake, and Orochimaru _knows_ that.

"No- No, no, no, no, Rin won't, Rin won't—"

"I'm wasting my time," the Sannin drawls out, and walks away.

"No! No! Give her back! You can't take her, you can't—" He makes an attempt to crawl, his broken legs protesting and causing pain to his whole body. But he has to _move_ , he has to because it's _Rin_ , and Orochimaru's taking her away and _experimenting on her_ to bring her back to life and—

_You're just terrified that she'll hate you when she gets back to life._

"No," he pleads, "please. _Please_. Give her back, give her-" he chokes on a sob, clawing the ground in sheer desperation. "Please, please, no—not Rin— Anyone but Rin, please— _Please—_ Give her back- Give her-ba-ack-"

He's found minutes later by his fellow ANBU members, legs broken and face bruised, sobbing and clawing on the ground.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> …I actually planned to write until Sasuke kills Orochimaru, but now I'm too tired and hungry, so.
> 
> Perhaps some other BAD END. This is certainly not going to be the last one, lmao.
> 
> Also, I hope I don't spoil too much on future chapters?
> 
> …Well, this is essentially a possible AU anyway, lol, I can always make EI different than this.
> 
> Though I love Nagisa, and yes, it's a Assassination Classroom reference. I mean, SNAKE, BLUE EYES, SUPER DEADLY. It's Shiota Nagisa!
> 
> The Zetsu Zetsu is Naruto Shippuden ED 40's title, guys. If you noticed my past preview has Rin singing You Are My Sunshine, but then I got inspired by this particular ED song and decided to use Zetsu Zetsu instead.
> 
> I don't wanna spoil what she says when she rambles in her mother language, but basically she despairs over what happened and what she must do after this and cursing Madara to hell and back. Oh and also despairing about Obito turning into Tobi.
> 
> Anyway, please tell me what you think? I really enjoyed writing this one. I hope I don't make Orochimaru too dramatic, since he's pretty much stoic on the outside but inside, it's like a hurricane.
> 
> Woooooo.
> 
> Review for happy things in Erasing Impossibility!


	10. That Person, Who Disappears

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter contains headcanons that come from reviewer's idea, very short and brief because of Writer's Block. This chapter is also an apology for said Writer's Block, because if you read RIG=VEDA, then you know I will mostlikely update EI on May. I apologize.
> 
> Sooo… Here you go.
> 
> Warnings: angst, romance?, ANGST, feels, and did I say angst? Because ANGST

**DARK!RIN AU HEADCANONS** :

It probably happens in a world where Kakashi betrays her of some sort. Like, maybe she tells him that she's a reincarnation? And it turns out to be a Bad Choice, because Kakashi notices her personality switches when she switches places with Rinny, so he kinda gets worried that she's a Sleeping Agent and tells the Hokage about it, because Sleeping Agent can be cured and then she can continue working as a Konoha-nin afterwards, right? Or so he thinks as he tells the Hokage.

Rin ends up getting interrogated. In the end her loyalty is believed to be "entirely loyal to Konoha's best interests" but she's too traumatized and very much betrayed by Kakashi.

And then there's Danzo.

C'mon, a reincarnation and knows so much about Konoha to boot? He's going to want that one, he wants that one so much. And he actually gets her, because Plot, and because he's a shitty bastard who is able to convince Hiruzen, but fortunately, Orochimaru is Having None of That.

Orochimaru ends up being Danzo's "underling" who has Rin under his wings because they're both fairly competent in the medic field, and Rin has to help with the experimentation.

It includes lots of tears, panic attacks, and very much guilt, but Danzo is looming over them like a hawk ready to strike, and Orochimaru has to guide her so she doesn't break, because he doesn't want her to break, damn it, _don't break_.

In the end both Orochimaru and Rin are pillars to each other, and Rin ends up disappearing from Konoha as a whole, only spending time in Orochimaru's labs with Orochimaru and Nagisa.

Kakashi ends up thinking that Rin got killed by the Hokage, because when he asked Hiruzen about it, the Hokage simply smiled sadly. He's Very Guilty, because Rin is his bestfriend, and because of him, she _disappeared_.

Obito, although he doesn't know the true extent of it, figures out that Kakashi must have a hand in it because of his Guilty Look whenever he asks him about Rin. Team Minato end up having another kunoichi in the team, but the team is as dysfunctional as it can be, and she died as Isobu's Jinchuuriki.

During the Kyuubi Attack, all ROOT personnel are prohibited from helping, which includes Rin, so she's not able to help, no matter how much she begs Orochimaru. The Snake Sannin is quick to shut down her idea and remind her of Danzo.

After the Kyuubi Attack, when Orochimaru defects, it is Kakashi who tries to stop him. However, instead of Orochimaru's Killing Intent, it's Nagisa that gets him. He is left there, watching as the ROOT ANBU removes her mask and reveals the face of his bestfriend whom he thought as dead _for years_ , watching as her eyes meet his mismatched own and very blankfaced that it hurts, because Rin is not supposed to look like that, to look at him like that, she's not—

But then Rin smiles thinly at him, and after slipping an antidote for Nagisa's venom ( _even after all these years_ , Orochimaru thinks in exasperation, _she is still too kind_ ), she walks away from Konoha along with Orochimaru.

His best friend turns into a traitor, and Kakashi figures out that it started with his own betrayal.

Meanwhile, Rin manages to convince Orochimaru to bring the Boy who looks so much like Yamato, and Orochimaru is pleasantly surprised to see the boy survive Hashirama's cells. The boy is affectionately named Nohara Yamato, and although he is wary at Orochimaru, he sticks like a burr on Rin.

Anko, because of reasons including Rin, knowledge of Danzo and his threats and all, follows Orochimaru. Years later, Kabuto gets pulled in.

The four of them ends up being the Four Big Generals of Sound, with Rin as poison specialist who brings along her Nagisa at all times, Anko who is The Sadist who laughs at her opponents as she skewers them with anything available including fish, Kabuto whose smile is so sharp it can cut your heart and he does cut your heart with his scalpels oops, and also the Mokuton user who is Sound's strongest defense, and the four of them are looked up upon by everyone including but not limited to the Sound Four, who has this dream into becoming the next Generals.

Kimimaro just scoffs at them, because obviously he's the strongest between all of them, it's clear if they want to add one more General, it's going to be him.

Anko just laughs at them all.

Rin is totally against more experimentation, or at least, ones without consent, thank you very much. So Sound doesn't engage that much in human experimentation.

Karin is taken from Taki, but she's not forced to let people bite her, and although she lets Orochimaru to take some blood samples, she's not forced to do much more. Suigetsu escapes the Kiri Kekkei Genkai purging and ends up on Sound's doorstep. Juugo is constantly consulting previously-psychologist-in-training Rin, Kabuto, Rin and Orochimaru mulling over the relationship between Juugo's kekkei genkai and his brain and probably ends up blackmailing Tsunade to help them in solving Juugo's problem as well as Kimimaro's disease.

(Tsunade knows Orochimaru is a traitor. But she looks at his serene expression, how he pats Rin's head in a gentle way Tsunade has never seen before, sees his protectiveness over the children who are protective of him in return, and—

Tsunade backs down, and agrees to help them.

"Just this once!" She tells him, because he is still a traitor and she is still loyal to Konoha, no matter if she's left it behind because of her own pain.

"Good enough," Orochimaru answers simply, and there's that).

Kabuto dares to question his identity, once, but gets punched by Anko and lectured for _hours_ , even Yamato is laughing at him. He doesn't dare to do it anymore.

(" _You're Kabuto!_ " She shouts at him before she throws him soaring in the air.

He's not going to mention it because his body hurts all over, but he's very, _very_ happy.)

And then one day, a figure drops himself down on Sound's grounds, and although Sound's forces are ready to pummel him to the ground, he pays them no heed as he strides forward—

And envelopes Rin in a hug.

"Rin-chan," the figure says, warm hands enveloping her figure and caresses the back of her head. And Rin recognizes the person, if not for the mask, then for the endearment and the way he hugs her.

"…Obito?"

The figure removes his mask, and although he's missing an eye and there are scars on his face, it's clearly Obito, and he's smiling, so very relieved, and it's _Obito,_ Obito who should be Madara right now, who used the Kyuubi and collected Jinchuuriki, but he's smiling at her, right here, right now, and—

Rin misses him, so, so much, and the very moment she realizes it, she has burst into tears.

(He has heard of the Sound Generals, and although the mention of Mokuton intrigues him, he doesn't pay it much heed.

But then, he hears her name, and the web of lies Madara has woven promptly breaks.

" _You said she died!" Obito lunged at Zetsu, one day inside Akatsuki Base. "You said Kakashi framed her, you said Konoha killed her! You lied to me!"_

_Zetsu tried to escape, but Obito was having none of that. With all of his fury, he activated his Kamui, and had Zetsu cut off from the rest of the world, trapped in his dimension forever._

" _Madara lied to me," he said to the watching eyes of Pein, Konan, and other Akatsuki members. "Madara probably lied to you all either."_ )

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> That's… it? Haha. I might add some more someday.
> 
> Once again, I apologize for my writer's block. I will probably mostlikely hopefully return in May!
> 
> Thank you! Review please?


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